The IPL 2022 season kicks off later today, March 26, in Mumbai, when Shreyas Iyer's Kolkata Knight Riders face Ravindra Jadeja's Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium.
The Chennai franchise announced before of the current season that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja would take up Dhoni's leadership role in the team.
KKR, like all of the other teams in the competition, has a new lineup. Shreyas Iyer was named captain of the team after KKR purchased him for INR 12.25 crore in the big auction.
IPL gives players who are not in contention for white-ball matches for their national teams a chance to impress selectors and make their way back.
One such player, who will be looking to do so will be fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who is back with the KKR side for the IPL 2022 edition.
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Thanks to the presence of players like Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Deepak Chahar, and others, Umesh Yadav has been absent from the limited-overs contention for the Indian team for a long time now.
The 34-year-old Indian fast bowler said that he wants to make a comeback for the Indian team in the white-ball formats with consistent performances in the IPL 2022.
“This is a great thing that happened to me that I joined KKR again. I am hoping to play as many games for KKR as possible and send out a message that I am a white-ball cricketer too. If I do well, I am sure the selectors will look at me and give me the chance once again in limited-overs cricket,” Umesh told the Times of India.
“I am hopeful of making the cut for the T20 World Cup this year and next year’s ODI World Cup as well,” he added.
Umesh further said that "he doesn’t want to be tagged as a red-ball specialist" and wants to prove that he can play white-ball games as well.
The Indian fast bowler further said that he won't be able to prove himself if he is not “getting opportunities.”
“We need opportunities and chances in white-ball cricket to perform. So, there won’t be any specific perception and players are not tagged as red-ball or white ball specialists. If you are not getting opportunities in white ball cricket, how will you prove yourself?” said Umesh.
